The Lord is Nigh

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18
Yesterday we discussed the fact that we must approach God in a spirit of humility--that we must realize our true state of unrighteousness and sinfulness before Him. But we're told one other thing in this verse: that when we do approach the Lord in recognisance of our failure and lack He will be with us. God does not push us away because of our sinfulness--He is a loving and compassionate God. He is simply waiting for us to humble ourselves so that there will be room for Him. When we are broken and hurting, He is there with more compassion than we can imagine to sooth and heal.

How Good Are You Really?

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18
There are two sides to this verse. The first is our side. There are those who consider themselves good--God ought to bless them because they are good Christians or good people. They follow what they consider to be the rules of the game, don't do anything "too" bad, acknowledge God from time to time...so obviously God owes them. I've never heard anything so ridiculous. There is no such thing as a good person. You cannot please God through works at all--that goes for earning His favor after salvation as much as it goes for salvation itself. You are not good enough, cannot be good enough, and no set of rules or regulations impresses Him. God doesn't owe you anything. This sort of pride will only build a wall between you and the Lord. God is impressed when we humble ourselves, and if we are to approach Him, that is the only way.
(to be cont.)

Be Still

How easily we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day lives. We're running around, trying to get everything done, trying to do more than any generation has ever done faster than it's ever been done. Fast food isn't fast enough. High-speed is too slow. And in the midst of it all comes a still, small voice saying, "Be still." It's not wrong to want to accomplish much; we're instructed to everything heartily as unto the Lord. But while we're striving to do, we must remember that our primary goal should be to KNOW, and we must take time to be still and know Him.

Bad Day

It's been a horrible day--irredeemable by noon. One of those days you resign yourself to surviving...forget saving. I can't tell you that tomorrow's going to be better; I hope and pray that it will...even believe that it will. But I cannot guarantee it. I can, however, guarantee this: eventually days like this will, for me, be permanently in the past. There IS a brighter day coming for me, and I can promise that. I can promise that, because it's been promised to me by One Who's never, ever broken a promise. Today stunk. Tomorrow could as well. But one of these days they'll ALL be good for every believer. And that's a guarantee.

Awesome God

It's fall and the leaves are starting to change here. A friend of mine recently enjoyed the trade winds in Hawaii. Other friends have been playing in the sand and sun of the beach. This is an amazing world we live in...and I know the Creator of ALL of it! Isn't that awesome?! My God is tremendously incredible! Not only did he create everything in this awe-inspiring universe, but He takes time to have a personal relationship with someone like me or you.

God is SO Good!

Do you remember the little Sunday School chorus "God is so good"? It's really simple: God is so good...God is so good...God is so good, He's so good to me! Again, the depth of these "simple" songs amazes me! If we could just get through our heads that God is good--and that He's good to ME--we'll be infinitely better off. Our relationship with God will be stronger, our sense of peace greater, our joy more full, our happiness more consistent.... God is good!

Faith Vs. Reality

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
Have you ever heard someone say something like, "Oh, I don't believe that," when something about God or salvation comes up? I'm so glad that God is God with zero qualifiers. He is faithful--He will never fail. And it doesn't matter what silly person declares their unbelief. The whole world can say God does not exist, that He cannot help me, but their scoffing does nothing to change what is--my God is faithful!

Give The World A Smile

There's an old song called "Give the World a Smile," a great little chorus about the power of such a small gesture as a smile. It really doesn't take much to smile, you know, but sometimes that's all it takes to turn someone's day around. I know a smile at the right time has certainly turned my day around before, and I'm sure many of you could say the same. So, if that's all it takes to make the world around you a little better, why not go for it? Try it out. Smile at people--try to smile at everyone you come across. I bet you'll feel better and happier right away, AND that you'll find people are more pleasant towards you. Besides, as forgiven and favored children of the Most High, we've got a lot to smile about!

Life's Not Fair

Life's not fair. Sorry...it's just not...that's the way it is. I know that sounds like a depressing start to a newsletter devotional/blog dedicated to peace and hope, but it's really not. You cannot be at peace until you recognize and accept that life just is not fair. Bad things happen to good people; good things happen to bad people. But here's the good part: that's not the end of the story! We're promised that, as children of God, all things are going to end up in our favor. We may not see it right now, but we don't have to--we just need, for our own well-being, to realize that "this too shall pass" and to trust our Heavenly Father to take care of it. He's still on the throne, and when it's all said and done, we'll be rewarded in one way or another.

Don't Give Up

I was thinking of the Samaritan woman at the well. Here you've got a woman that was an outcast, unwanted, ashamed. She wouldn't even come draw water when the other women were there. I imagine that pretty much everyone had given up on her. She was despised, rejected, mocked. But Jesus knew who she was, knew when she'd be there, and waited for her...because He hadn't given up on her...He did want her...He did love and care about her...He didn't reject her. I wonder how many people I meet who are rejected. How many of them have been totally given up on by everyone in their lives. May I be like Jesus and never, ever give up on a person! May I be there to tell them there's hope and forgiveness and to show them the One Who can make that hope and forgiveness real to them.

Say You're Sorry

Ever feel like you spend half your life apologizing to people? Sometimes I feel that way. If I'm not apologizing for something stupid I've done or said, it's for something stupid someone associated with me has done or said! At work, at church, out with friends...whatever...things happen. People are people, and they make mistakes. That means me, and that means you--we're going to put ourselves in situations that require apologies. And we'll be in situations where we'll be owed apologies. Either way, we have to learn to show forth another trait of God: grace. It really doesn't matter if you're apologizing or recieving an apology (and if we're honest, we owe many more than we are owed,) you have to learn to be gracious and honest and humble. We're all human, we'll always be human, and we'll always stumble over ourselves. It's a part of life, so you better get used to it. The hard part is learning to be gracious enough to deem the other greater than ourselves. Once that's done, apologies are easy! :)

Make a Difference!

And of some have compassion, making a difference; Jude 22
Ever feel like it doesn't mean anything? That you're just floating through life...for nothing? I know of one really simple way to change that: start caring! Care about your family, your friends, your neighbors and co-workers. Care about the girl who checks you out at the grocery store and the guy who delivers your mail. Care about people--all of them. Things are temporary...people are eternal. And you can make an eternal difference every day just be being compassionate--by showing that you care. Don't let a single opportunity to show compassion go by, and your life can that easily make a huge difference in someone's world.

What We Haven't Given

I just viewed a bulletin from a friend on myspace. It was one of the many "support our troops" collages, but above each picture of everyday soldier hardships was something that irritates a veteran upon their return. Essentially, it boiled down to this: after all they've seen and gone through, how dare we let them hear us complaining about how "badly" we have it?! How true. We've got soldiers across the globe enduring things we can't imagine...and we have the gall to complain about what? That our steak is medium instead of medium well? That it's three degrees cooler in the office than we like it? Especially as Christians, we have no business complaining. Not only have thousands of men and women given their lives for our freedom, God Himself gave His life for our redemption. Who do we think we are to complain? Keep in mind the sacrifices that have been made for you, and be grateful. You'll be a much happier person if you can keep that in perspective.